In a keynote address at the Consumer Federation of America’s 2022 Consumer Assembly, CFPB Deputy Director Zixta Martinez squarely took aim at “rent-a-bank schemes” in some of the first (if not the first) such comments by a senior CFPB official. Historically, the CFPB has confined itself to “true lender” litigation against participants in high-rate
James Stevens
James is the co-leader of the firm’s Financial Services Industry Group. He has significant experience working with clients across the entire financial services sector, regularly working with public and private companies such as banks, neobanks, marketplace lenders, and other fintech and financial services providers and partners.
OCC Defeats AGs’ Challenge to “Valid When Made” Rule
On February 8, a Northern District of California judge ruled on cross motions for summary judgment filed by the states of California, Illinois, and New York (plaintiffs) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Michael Hsu in his capacity as acting comptroller of the currency (collectively, the OCC) on the validity of…
CFPB Requests Public Input on Fees for Financial Products
On January 26, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced its request for the public to share its input on “exploitative junk fees charged by banks and financial companies” to form its rulemaking and guidance agenda, along with its enforcement priorities. The CFPB’s press release included a link to its “Request for Information…
State Coordination Will Continue to Regulate Use of Bitcoin
In this Bitcoin Magazine article, Troutman Pepper attorneys Stephen Piepgrass, James Stevens, Chris Carlson, and Namrata Kang discuss how in the absence of clear federal policy around emerging cryptocurrency-related technologies, state attorneys general will continue to take coordinated actions to regulate the industry. Recent enforcement actions against BlockFi and Celsius demonstrate that state regulators view…
Consumer Groups and State AGs Push Regulators to Tighten Guidance on Bank Partnerships
On October 18, consumer advocate groups and 19 state attorneys general wrote comment letters, urging banking regulators to denounce “rent-a-bank” arrangements between financial institutions and fintechs or other third-party providers.
The consumer advocates and attorneys general both push regulators to address and denounce financial institutions partnering with nonbanks to engage in high-cost lending otherwise prohibited…
Mastercard to Provide Additional Transaction Detail
According to a recent announcement, Mastercard will begin providing customers with additional details about their purchases, such as the merchant’s name, logo, and location of purchase. Mastercard is inviting merchants to upload their logos to Ethoca, after which the logos will be linked to the corresponding transaction in digital banking applications. The service…